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Turks
The Turks (Turkish: Türkler) (Uyghur:' ئۇيغۇر') (Chinese: 維吾爾)‎ or the Turkic people are an Altaic ethnic group that native to Central Asia, West Asia and descended from North Asia. This would include Turkey, the Central Asian republics also known Turkistanv ''(Kazakh: Түркістан), Russia, northwestern China and Mongolia. The island country of Cyprus also contains a remnant populations from the Ottoman era. The country of Turkey played a significant role in the advent of early eastern Christianity; at the latter advent of Islam, the Turks were one of the Muslim civilizations of West Asia that played a major cultural role in the Islamic Golden Age with their Arab and Persian counteraparts. Etymology The origins of the term "Turk" were found from the Old Turkic languages which used the term ''Turuk. This literally translates into words such as "strong". This referred to a nomadic group of people known as the Göktürks. The Orkhon inscriptions is an ancient monument located in Mongolia, which does mention the terms Turk and Turuk. History 'Early History' The Turks were a nomadic ethnic group that had no unity. They lived in a region that spanned Central Asia and North Asia, also known as "Siberia". Most of these nomads lived in China with the earliest civilizations date back around 500 B.C. The nomads used turquioise stone as jewelry against evil forces. One of the first unities of the nomadic tribes in Eurasia appeared around 2 B.C. which was the Confederation of Xiongnu (Chinese: 匈奴), which was nothing more than a nomadic confederation located north of the Chinese Han Dynasty. It was started by a man named Modu Shanyu (Chinese: 冒顿单于) who was a native from Mongolia. The confederation was ended when the nomadic armies were defeated by the Han Chinese forces down south. The Göktürks then took control of Inner Asia in 552 A.D., and established Göktürk Empire (552-747 A.D.). Turkic and Mongolic figures of royalty were known as "Khagans" or "Khans". Follwing the Göktürk collapse, waves of Turkic migrants headed west populating Turkey and Turkestan. The westward migration also saw the emergence of latter ethnolinguistic tribes, such as the Avars, Uyghurs, Kyrgys, Turkmens and the Turkish people. 'Khazar Kingdom 300-1000 A.D.' In the Middle Ages, Central Asia experienced an influx of Jewish migrants as a result of their persecution from Europe. They settled with a group of nomadic Göktürks in southern Russia that practiced Shamanism.Peter Golden, Khazar Studies, p. 58 Although the early origins of the people known as the Khazars are sourced from Arabic, Hebrew and Russian sources. Following the collapse of the Göktürk Empire, came the emergence of an independent Khazar state that coincided with the mass conversion of many Göktürk rulers to a monotheistic religion known as Judaism, as a result of the proselytizing with the Jewish migrants. The Khazars eventually adopted Judaism as their state religion and followed the political system of the other Turkic confederations and their Mongolic counterparts where a khan or khagan was the ruler. The Hebrew language also slipped its way into the tongues of the many Turkic people of this particular kingdom that would be known as Khazaria (Turkish: Hazarlar) or Eastern Tourkia and Khazar Kingdom (Turkish: Hazar Kağanlığı) (Hebrew: ממלכת הכוזרים) that covered Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and southern Russia. Many of the future Khazar rulers adopted Hebrew and Jewish names since Hebrew is Judaism's liturgical language. Arond 600 A.D., the Khazars annexed territories settled by the other Turkic communities such as the Bulgars and Sabirs, forcing many Bulgars to emigrate to the Volga River in Russia and quickly grew into a powerful well-developed nation that was a medieval reminiscent of the State of Israel today. The city of Balanjar, now in Russia, was the first capital of the Khazar Kingdom. Arab and European armies attempted to introduce Islam and Christianity to the Khazars through invasions, successfully converting a small number of communities. The Khazars were able to stop Islam from becoming the state religion, and became a buffer zone between the Muslim and Christian worlds. In the 720s A.D., the capital was moved to Samandar, also in what is today Russia's north Caucasus. Followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam worked together to build the city of Samandar which became known for its gardens and lush vineyards. The destruction of the Khazars came under an East Slavic kingdom known as the Kievan Rus', led by Prince Oleg. 'Göktürk Khaganate 552-747 A.D.' 'Islamization & Seljuk Empire 800-1157 A.D.' 'The Mighty Ottoman Empire' 'Turkic People During the Cold War' Language Religion Art and Architecture 'Art' 'Architecture' Notable Turks or People of Turkic Origin